FDA Finalizes Withdrawal of Food Color Orange B, Proposes Withdrawing Citrus Red No. 2
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) finalized the withdrawal of its authorization for the petroleum-based food color Orange B and proposed withdrawing the authorization for Citrus Red No. 2, used to color orange peels. The basis is abandonment, meaning industry no longer uses them, not a new safety determination.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced regulatory actions on two color additives for food. One is an order finalizing the withdrawal of the authorization for Orange B, which had been permitted for coloring sausage and frankfurter casings. The other is a proposal to withdraw the authorization for Citrus Red No. 2, which has been permitted since 1959 for coloring the skins of mature oranges.
For Orange B, the FDA said it reviewed public comments on its earlier proposal to withdraw the authorization and found no information that would change its conclusion that industry had abandoned that use. For Citrus Red No. 2, too, the FDA presented abandonment as its preliminary conclusion, and the comment period is 30 days (docket number FDA-2026-N-6304). The FDA will review the comments it receives before deciding whether to finalize the withdrawal.
How to read this
These actions are not based on a new scientific assessment that the two colors are harmful. They are housekeeping that removes authorizations no longer in use from the regulations. In the U.S. color additive framework, 'abandonment' is one legal basis for withdrawing an authorization, and it is a separate pathway from a safety re-evaluation. The FDA also said it is tracking, on a separate web page, commitments by manufacturers, distributors and industry groups to voluntarily replace petroleum-based colors. The actions can be seen as an extension of the ongoing push to reduce synthetic colors.
The Citrus Red No. 2 action is still only a proposal and has not been finalized. Also, this announcement contains no judgment on the safety of other synthetic colors, so whether any individual color poses a hazard must be checked against its own scientific assessment.
- Orange B: authorization for food use finally withdrawn (use for coloring sausage casings)
- Citrus Red No. 2: authorized in 1959; withdrawal proposed and comment period under way (FDA-2026-N-6304)
- The basis is 'abandonment,' not a new finding of harm
Limitations The Citrus Red No. 2 action is only a proposal and is not final. These actions clean up authorizations based on abandonment, not on a safety re-evaluation, and contain no judgment on the safety of other colors.
Original Research
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration · U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). FDA Takes Further Steps to Remove Outdated Authorizations for Color Additives in Food. U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
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